Sasse Says Iran's Mullahs Are "Soaked in Blood"

The U.N. human rights chief says video footage suggests Iranian forces were “shooting to kill” in a bloody crackdown against protesters in recent weeks that reportedly left at least 208 people dead.

Michelle Bachelet says footage his office received appears to show demonstrators being gunned down while running away, or being shot “directly in the face and vital organs.”

US Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the US State Department disclosed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp had slaughtered at least a thousand Iranians in the past few days.

Sasse: “Iran's mullahs are soaked in blood. The slaughter of at least a thousand men, women, and children shows what Iran’s dictatorship is really about: complete and brutal power.

"If the mullahs served the Iranian people rather than their vicious ideology, they wouldn’t be mowing down innocent protesters and stacking the bodies like cordwood. American sanctions have set the real thugs in Tehran on edge, and they’re lashing out. The U.S. should continue to tighten the reins, and our allies around the world should help.”

Bachelet called on Friday for an investigation, and said such actions amounted to a “serious violations of human rights.” Iran disputes death toll figures released by foreign organizations but has so far refused to release any nationwide casualty or arrest figures.

Dan Swanson of B103 FM contributed to the is report.